


all grown up

by pure_of_heart



Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Not really hurt, Swearing, cause bitchard got a dirty mouth, just fluff and comfort, teen and up just as a precaution, they are dads
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:08:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27297673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pure_of_heart/pseuds/pure_of_heart
Summary: Thomas and Richard are sound asleep when their eldest daughter, Marya, shows up on their doorstep drenched in rain and sniffling.
Relationships: Thomas Barrow/Richard Ellis
Comments: 6
Kudos: 35





	all grown up

**Author's Note:**

> HIIIIII IM BACK LMAO  
> so sorry if there's any typos or if there's too much repetition i kinda just wrote this and wanted to publish it  
> let me know if you want more of these guys and their kids cause i literally LOVED writing this  
> comments and kudos are greatly appreciated !!!! <33  
> this was inspired by someone saying they wanted a fic with grown up kids but my bum ass memory can’t remember who said it

A heavy knocking woke Thomas from his blissful sleep. The sound of rain hitting the window almost lulled him back to his dreamscape, but another set of bangs on their front door fully awoke him. Beside him, Richard let out a groan.

“Who the bloody hell is that?” He said as he snuggled in closer to the warmth of Thomas.

Thomas sighed, “Don’t know. What time is it?”

Richard lifted his head before flopping back down to Thomas’ chest, “Two in the fucking morning…”

The knocking sounded once again and showed no signs of stopping this time. Thomas groaned, gently lifting Richard off him so he could get up. He didn’t bother putting a shirt on, whoever was at the door would just have to put up with seeing him shirtless and in his (Richard’s) long bunny printed pyjamas.

The knocking grew louder combined with the heavy rainfall outside as Thomas drew closer to the door. He flicked the lamp beside the door on before opening it.

“The fuck do you-Marya?” Thomas exclaimed in surprise at seeing his eldest daughter standing on their front porch, drenched from the heavy rain and sniffling. Three overflowing bags sat next to her socked feet. Thomas’ fatherly instinct immediately switched on.

“Come in, come in darling. What’re you doing out in the rain at this hour?”

Marya did not answer. She dropped her bags next to her feet once she was inside, a trail of water following her. She looked at Thomas, and he saw that she was going to cry before she knew herself.

“Oh, come here. It’s alright, it’s okay,” he gently held her, rubbing up and down her back and placing a comforting hand on her wet head, “What’s happened, love?”

Marya continued sobbing in her father’s arms, unable to get the words out. She pulled herself close to his warmth, knowing he would stand here for as long as she needed. After a few more moments, she allowed herself to pull back and tried to compose himself.

“H-He…I trusted him a-and…I’d suspected for a while now but I never let myself believe it was true! And God now I feel so stupid! I loved him a-and he…he betrayed me! How could he do that, Da? H-How could he do that…” she trailed off into tears again, feeling the coldness wrap around her. It was gone the next moment, for her da had enveloped her in his arms again.

“Come on, darling. Have a seat, I’ll go fetch Dad,” Thomas moved her, so she was sitting in an arm chair, looking out the window. He made sure she was alright before heading back to the bedroom to wake Richard.

“Mmph, wha-what? Fuck off, Thomas...” was his husbands reply before he buried himself even further into the sheets. Thomas let out a breathy laugh before trying again.

“Richard, darling. Marya’s here. Wake up, sweetheart.” He coaxed. He knew what to do, after all he’d had almost twenty years’ experience with a tired Richard. And a grumpy Richard, and a sad and a happy and a scared and most certainly an aroused Richard.

“What? Marya?” Richard murmured before sitting up slowly. Thomas grabbed his pants from where they’d been flung earlier that night.

“Yes, she’s here. And she very upset and needs both her dads to comfort her.” Thomas said, grabbing a pair of pyjama pants that matched his and passing them to Richard. He murmured his thanks before putting them on and following Thomas out to where Marya was sat.

“Hello, love. What’s the matter?” Richard consoled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Thomas set off for the kitchen, making three cups of tea. He added a splash of honey to two of the cups, shaking his head lightly at his husband’s and daughter’s weird habits.

When he entered, Marya had calmed down significantly. No doubt due to Richard, he thought. While raising their children, the two men had found that while they were both good at comforting their kids, Richard seemed to have a ‘magic touch’ with it. Thomas wasn’t hurt by this at all, as similarly he had a knack for picking up on when their children were lying or being deceitful. Richard was actually a bit pissed about that, as he had been tricked multiple times by all three of their children.

Marya muttered her thanks as she took the tea. She visibly relaxed when she took a sip of it and leaned into her Dad’s side.

Thomas raised his eyebrows at Richard, to which his husband responded with a face Thomas knew all too well. It was the ‘Something-Big-Has-Happened-And-You-Need-To-Not-Be-A-Dick-About-It’. Thomas replied with the ‘When-Am-I-Ever-A-Dick-About-Stuff?’ face. Richard rolled his eyes with a smile.

“You want to tell him, or shall I?” Richard whispered to their daughter. She laughed, though it was weak and obviously put on for show.

“You can, Dad.”

Richard nodded before turning to Thomas, “David-don’t give me that look-David has been a right dickhead and slept with another woman.”

Thomas saw red. How dare that lowlife little shitbag hurt his daughter like this? He never liked the boy, from the day he met him. He gave off an air or arrogance and was nowhere near being worthy of his daughter.

“Thomas don’t be a di- “

“That motherfucker. I’m gonna kill ‘im. I will, I swear it.”

Richard made a face at Thomas’s language as if not twenty minutes ago he wasn’t telling his husband to fuck off. He didn’t know what he expected Marya’s reaction to be, but it wasn’t for her to laugh a genuine, real laugh.

“He was always scared of you, Da. I’ve no idea why, you’re the biggest softie I’ve ever met but for some reason…he practically shit his pants every time your name came up on my phone.” She said.

Richard scoffed, “Well, he’s mighty brave then.”

They all laughed for a moment before it fell silent. Marya cast a glance towards her bags. She looked to be contemplating something. Thomas and Richard interrupted her train of thought.

“Of course, you can stay here,” said Thomas.

“For as long as you like.” Richard finished.

Marya glanced back to them, looking between them. She looked down in sadness.

“I keep waiting for the day I’ll find a love like you two have. I thought that was with David but…clearly I was wrong.” She fiddled with the mug, her nails making small clinking sounds against the ceramic.

Thomas glanced at Richard, and they both nodded in agreement.

“Darling, I love your Dad very much. There’s no doubt about that. But it took us a lot of work to get to where we are today.” Thomas reached out and held Marya’s hand.

Richard held her other, “We went through many ups and downs, and we still do now. The thing Is sweetheart, there is no key to finding the right person. It’s just luck, and your father and I were very lucky.”

“So lucky that the day my pen ran out also happened to be the same day the cute new kid started with a brand-new full pack of pens.” Thomas laughed.

Richard continued, “And that the cute new kid was a little bit afraid of the bad boy who stunk of cigarettes that he gave over _all_ of his pens.”

Marya laughed at the tale of how her two fathers met. She had known the story before, of course. It had been the subject of many bedtime stories when she was growing up, sometimes with knights and princes and other times with outlaws and sheriffs. But the story always remained the same, and always had a happy ending.

“Now, let’s get you out of these wet clothes. Go have a shower, love,” Richard grabbed all three of the now empty mugs as he stood up. Thomas guided Marya to the bathroom, where he set her down as he warmed up the water.

“Take as long as you need, yeah? The days of running out of hot water are behind us, after all.”

Marya laughed at her Da’s comical expression. She remembered how he was always the last one to shower and often, his showers would be ice cold. Hearing his grumbling complaints had become part of her nightly routine, and often lulled her to sleep.

“Thanks, Da.” She whispered. He gave her a smile before leaving the room and shutting the door behind him.

Thomas returned to the main room to see Marya’s bags laid out on the floor. He spotted a pair of pyjamas, her favourite ones in fact. Thomas grabbed them, moved her bags into her old room, and put the comfy pyjamas in the dryer to warm them up. He tossed a fluffy towel in there with them too and set it for fifteen minutes. He knew his daughter well; she wouldn’t take less than ten or more than twenty minutes in the shower.

“Could you grab some sheets, love? We’ll need to make her bed,” Richard appeared in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest.

Thomas gave a smile to his husband, who responded kindly. The moved together, all those years together providing them with intimate nature of each other’s minds. The moved together, moulding against one another like puzzle pieces. Thomas felt complete with Richard like this.

“Our poor baby…” Richard whispered into the crook of Thomas’ neck. He felt the hot air spread across the skin, sending a tingle through his spine.

“I always knew he was a knobhead…” Thomas responded. He felt Richard’s form shake under his arms and his husband laughed.

“Yes, yes I know. Don’t think I forget the nights you spent complaining about him…”

“I didn’t _complain_ about him, just…expressed my dislike, that’s all,”

Richard pulled back, resting his elbow against Thomas’ shoulder. His other hand was held against Thomas’ black hair, gently stroking the un-gelled mess.

Richard stared at Thomas with a fond smile on his face, “I’m so glad I found you…”

“Now, now Mr. Ellis it was luck that brought us together…” Thomas joked. Richard swatted his with his hand on the back of Thomas’ head.

“Oi! Mr. Barrow to you…” Richard teased.

Thomas smiled despite the dig at his insistence on being called Mr. Barrow at work instead of Thomas (he had worked hard for that promotion after all).

Thomas hummed, “Fuck you…”

“If I could be so lucky…” Richard spoke in an exaggerated tone, pretending to swoon.

“You just might be, Mr. Barrow…”

“Oh really, Mr. Barrow?”

Thomas quirked an eyebrow at the other man and began to speak but was interrupted by Marya.

“Dad! I need some pyjama’s! They should be in my bags! And a towel!”

Thomas sighed, “The joys of children…”

Richard smiled at him, turning the dryer off and taking out the clothes and towel, “Yeah, but you wouldn’t change it for the world, now would you?”

The words were true. Parenting had been the greatest time of Thomas’ life, his whole life revolved around his family. He was beginning to grow sad that their children were all (mostly) grown up now, but tonight had proved that their kids would never stop needing their fathers.

He broke himself out of his thoughts, grabbing sheets out of the cupboard to put on Marya’s bed.

Meanwhile, Richard knocked on the bathroom door.

“Got your clothes love, and a towel.”

The door opened a fraction. A hand reached out amid the steam wafting from the room. Richard placed the items in Marya’s outstretched hand.

“Da’s put the in the dryer for you, love. Your bed will be ready by the time you come out,”

“Thanks, Dad. Really…” With that, the door shut again.

“Turn the fan on, please!” He shouted through the door. Once he heard the tell-tale whirring of the bathroom fan he made his way back to Thomas.

“She forget the fan again?” Thomas said when he walked into the almost bare room. Marya had taken most of her belongings with her when she moved in with David, the only things that remained were her bed, desk, and a few old band posters and school certificates.

Thomas’ answer came in the form of a smile. Together, they finished making the bed. They had used her old Star Wars bedsheets, as they were the only sheets that could fit on the single bed.

Marya entered the room, letting down her light brown hair from the bun she had put it up in.

“Where’s Daisy?” she asked.

“Friends house, she’s at a sleepover.” Richard smiled. Beside him, Thomas gestured for Marya to hop into bed.

“Want a bedtime story?” he asked. She wasn’t sure if he was joking or being serious, but the thought of a story didn’t seem too bad.

She sat on the bed; it was as comfy as she remembered it. Richard pulled back the covers as he helped her get settled. Marya laid down, feeling the warmth surround her.

“Goodnight, love.”

“Don’t let the monster get you,”

“Thomas!”

Marya laughed at her fathers’ antics. “Goodnight,” she whispered.

She heard their footsteps retreat and saw the light go out behind her eyelids. Just before the door shut Thomas spoke,

“Uh oh, I can see a monster under the bed…”

“Thomas! Stop it!”

Marya let out a heavy snort, shaking in her bed with laughter. She heard her Da’s giggles from where he was standing, and her Dad’s playful scolding’s to him. The door shut, leaving her with the faint murmurs of her parents.

Suddenly, the warmth seeped out. She felt cold all at once, the rain beating on her window only increasing her feelings of loneliness.

She felt as if she were five years old again, trembling in fear under her covers because there was a thunderstorm outside, and her bed seemed to big and yet too small. Back when she used to run out of her room when it was dark in fear of the proclaimed monster living underneath her bed. Or when she’d wake up in the middle of the night, thirsty like a desert, and how she would go and wake up one of her father’s, just to she could hold their hand as she poured herself a cup of water because she was afraid of what lurked in the cold, dark shadows.

Marya sat up in bed, lighting flashing across her face between the blinds that were open. She huddled herself together, wrapping the blanket more firmly around her body. Thunder sounded, starting out soft before building up into a crescendo that sent the dogs barking.

She breathed out, feeling her whole chest tremble. More lighting. She counted.

_One one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand, f-_

This time the thunder wasted no time in building up. The sudden crashing noise seeming considerably closer than one kilometre. She didn’t even know if counting the seconds to determine how far away the storm was worked, it was just something she had seen in a movie when her Dad was out for a night and Da had to take care of her and Teddy. It was before they had adopted Daisy, she remembered. She also remembered how Da had been in trouble for letting her and Teddy watch a scary movie so late at night because it would scare them, a point which was proven when both children crawled into their fathers’ bed at midnight.

Their bed had been so warm and soft. She and Teddy had slept in the middle, with Da behind her and Dad behind Teddy. Marya quietly dangled her feet over the edge of the bed, feeling a momentary pang of fear that something would reach out and grab her. She stood up, feeling her way around the familiar room. She reached the door and slowly opened it.

In Thomas and Richard’s room, they were getting ready to hop back into bed. Neither of them had work the next day, which was something they were grateful for the moment Marya showed up on their doorstep.

Richard was already in bed, his lamp turned off as he stared lazily at Thomas. His husband was fiddling with the clock they kept on the dresser, grumbling to himself. Broken then, if Thomas’ reaction when he opened the back was anything to go by.

He was just pulling back the covers when there was a tentative knock at their door. It opened, revealing Marya with her arms wrapped around herself.

“I wouldn’t actually mind that bedtime story…” she said softly, kneeling on the edge of their bed. She seemed nervous, as if a twenty-two-year-old wanting a bedtime story was the craziest thing her fathers had ever seen.

Richard only smiled, “Hop in then,”

Marya bit her lip, sliding up in between her parents. She laid on her back, feeling Da’s arm beneath her and staring up at the ceiling. There were little plastic stars on it, the glow in the dark kind. She remembered how Teddy used to be obsessed with space and had the same stars on his ceiling. When he got scared, he used to come in here and sleep, much like Marya was doing now. Only he complained because he couldn’t see the stars in here, so one day Da had come back from the shops with a pack of glow in the dark stars, and together they had stuck them up that night. It must have been at least ten years since Teddy had slept in here, but they never took them down.

“Outlaws and sheriffs or princes and knights?” Thomas asked, turning out his lamp. The room was now completely dark, but Marya didn’t mind. She could see the stars now.

“Outlaws and sheriffs…” She whispered sleepily. Already she was beginning to feel sleep pull her under.

“Alright,” Thomas made himself comfortable, reaching for Richard’s hand with the arm that was beneath her, “Once upon a time, there was a mean and cruel outlaw by the name of Barlow-”

“Not that cruel, he could actually be quite kind if you knew him,” Richard interrupted.

“Anyway, he was an outlaw. And one day Barlow decides to rob a bank. But not just any bank, no. He decided to rob the _richest_ bank in the Wild West. So, he sets up a date, and makes a plan. On the night of the robbery, he goes to sneak in and steal the townspeople’s money. Only to find,” Thomas gasped dramatically, “He forgot his pen!”

Marya giggled softly, burying herself deeper into the warm covers and arms of her parents.

This time it’s Richard who speaks, “Luckily for him, a random passer-by happens to have a pen. Hell, he has a whole pack of them! He offers one to Barlow, and introduces himself,”

“What’s his name?” she murmurs.

“Sheriff Ell…a. Sheriff Ella. And he has no idea that Barlow is an outlaw, he just thinks he’s very handsome and a little bit scary, because Barlow has piercings and is wearing eyeliner.”

“I looked hot…”

“Oh, you were darling don’t worry. Eventually, Sheriff Ella figures out who Barlow really is, and arrests him.”

“While Barlow is in prison, he begins to fall in love with the Sheriff- “

“-And the Sheriff falls in love with Barlow, too.”

Marya began to drift off, letting her father’s voices rock her to sleep.

“Because they’re so in love, they decide to get married. Or at least engaged because it wasn’t actually legal- “

“Thomas…”

“-But! They know for sure they want to marry each other, and when they are finally allowed to, Sheriff Ella becomes Sheriff Barlow.”

“Even though Sheriff Ella wanted to hyphenate, but Barlow didn’t lie the thought of a long last name even though it meant our names would be joined.”

“Well, Sheriff Ella never complained about becoming Sheriff Barlow.”

“No, he didn’t. And he’s actually quite glad he became Sheriff Barlow because now when people call for Barlow, they both turn, and the Sheriff likes to see the shock on people’s faces when they realise there’s two Barlow’s...”

“That’s gotten really specific, sweetheart.”

“Shut up, go to sleep. Look, Marya’s asleep. There, story’s finished.”

“Love you, Sheriff.”

“Love you too, my outlaw.”


End file.
